Ciao Bella Greeting Cards

Ciao Bella

Handout

Pam Braun's line of unique, hand-drawn cards are in print and available in four categories - Everyday, Celebration, Sporting and Holiday. The cards can be found at local retailers, as well as online. http://www.ciaobellastudio.com

Pam Braun's line of unique, hand-drawn cards are in print and available in four categories - Everyday, Celebration, Sporting and Holiday. The cards can be found at local retailers, as well as online. http://www.ciaobellastudio.com (Handout)

SARAH WESLEY LEMIRE

As a child growing up in the Riverside section of Greenwich, Pam Braun loved to illustrate cards for her family. Her drawings were often whimsical and depicted animals in colorful scenes like dachshunds dancing in a conga line, a horse baking a cake for his friend Foxy, or a cat wearing sunglasses while playing the saxophone.

Little did Braun know that those fanciful sketches would one day become the foundation for the successful note and greeting card company, Ciao Bella.

Before that would happen, however, Braun studied art in Boston, moved to New York City and then married her husband, Tom, a publishing executive. They combined her creative, artistic talent with his publishing experience to establish a small line of unique, hand-drawn cards.

Beginning with just 20 of Pam's designs, they marketed their cards to boutique gift stores, gourmet markets and bookshops. Before long they garnered an enthusiastic following. Soon large retailers including Lord & Taylor and exclusive hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton and The Plaza began to carry their cards.

The couple settled in Madison where the company remains. Tom died in 2010 and the couple's son Will Braun took over the company: "[My mom is] a very visual person and a happy person. She finds inspiration all over the place, from friends and family and traveling. Many of our designs are actually based on her photographs and experiences."

More than 160 of Pam Braun's drawings are in print and available in four categories — Everyday, Celebration, Sporting and Holiday. The cards can be found at Whole Foods Market, The Round Hill Store in Greenwich, Maggie's of Madison, the Fairfield Women's Exchange in Southport and other local retailers, as well as online.